success

R

razorsdescent

Joined
Jan 16, 2005
Messages
2,938
after about 3 days i finally got a fire started with a flint and steel.

i was sitting in the door way with a bowl filled with dryer lint and toilet paper. my gf was staring in awe at my utmost failure when suddenly woosh, the bowl just lit up.

I am so proud of myself.:D

But it occurs to me just how pathetic that is:(

for centuries the flint and steel was the only method used to start fires.

it took me a long time under controlled enviornments to even catch dry dryer lint and tp aflame.

its very sobering.

Any tips or suggestions? iknow this will take time and practice to master but there are many people more knowledgeable than myself here and i would appreciate any help i can get.:confused:

p.s i carry about 5 lighters in every back pack i own.;)
 
Well you are one up on me here as I haven't tried flint yet. I was under the impression that most people use char cloth as an accessory to flint and steel. The char cloth catches the spark and forms an ember. You then place the char cloth in your tinder and blow it until you achieve flames.

Perhaps a seasoned person around here can revamp the recipe for making char cloth. Also dumb question to those who do this, but does the char cloth disintigrate after your blow your tinder into flames. In other words is it one use only? If so then more than one char cloth seems to be needed on hand.
 
Flint and steel or Ferro rod? Usually with a flint and steel you would catch the spark on a piece of char cloth, take the ember to your tinder and then blow to a flame.

flint005.jpg
 
Char cloth I have made is one use only. I cut it into 1-2 inch squares and stick it into my tinder bundle. Blow on it and whoosh!
 
ferro rod i think.. will someone inform me of the difference plz.

and a recipe for char cloth would be much appreciated.
 
Ferrorod or firesteel looks like this:

DSC_0098-1.jpg


The flint and steel looks like the picture in Tonym's post above.

If it is a firesteel as shown in this post then you are on the right track. The practice is getting the sparks to shower on the tinder. Also, it helps if you 'fluff-up' the tinder. One of the best things to learn on is cotton balls that are smudged with a bit of petroleum jelly on them. You sort of tease out the individual fires and they will light almost instantly when the sparks hit them. As for lint, again you want to tease out individual firbres from a ball of fluff. You want the small fibres to catch the spark. Toilet paper same thing, cut it or tear it into thin strips and use the edge of your knife to sort of tear the layers apart and make them as small as you can.
 
Alot of guys confuse a flint and steel with a ferro rod.

The pic I posted is a flint and steel. You use the steel to strike the flint(type of rock) You are actually shaving off small particles of carbon steel in the form of sparks. The sparks are not hot enough to burn tinder, so the char cloth is used. When the spark hits the char cloth it forms an ember. Take that ember and place it in your very fine tinder. Then blow to a flame.

A ferrocium rod is not flint at all. I don't know the actual composition of a ferrocium rod, but all you do with that is use a sharp hard object to scrape material of the rod. The sparks that the rod produce burn at around 4k degrees easily hot enough to ignite properly prepared tinder.

Here is a video on making char cloth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7uLVGrAt1M
 
Fine steel wool also works well for catching a spark, :thumbup:

…and it works wet or dry. :D


It can also be used to polish corrosion of your tools.


It’s worth keep some in your kit. :cool:




"If you're not living on the edge, …you're taking up too much space."

Big Mike
 
I am telling you - without Magnesium and knowing what your doing - mishmetal sticks (Ferro rod) is not easy.

Try a cotton ball - that will go up first strike. Cotton ball with a little chap stick or PJ (Vasolene) will go up FAST and stay lite for some time.

Good job though. I am telling you though, you need to move to the bow drill - THAT makes you feel no only proud - but MANLY! ;)

TF
 
Talfuchre said:
Good job though. I am telling you though, you need to move to the bow drill - THAT makes you feel no only proud - but MANLY! ;)

TF
Click to expand...

:thumbup::thumbup:

and it also makes you worship the person who created the lighter:D
 
I have recently been trying cotton balls soaked in lamp oil and so far they seem to work even better than PJ balls. I stuff them in a small pill bottle until I need them !
 
pitdog said:
I have recently been trying cotton balls soaked in lamp oil and so far they seem to work even better than PJ balls. I stuff them in a small pill bottle until I need them !
Click to expand...

True some oils will make the cotton burn longer and may even catch a lil quicker, but the PJ I think makes them a lil water resistant, not waterproof, but resistant.
 
tonym said:
True some oils will make the cotton burn longer and may even catch a lil quicker, but the PJ I think makes them a lil water resistant, not waterproof, but resistant.
Click to expand...

Not only that, but the pj is dual purpose because of its first aid applications.

Doc
 
I carefully scrape off small amount of fero rod onto a piece of toilet paper
and finally let the spark to ignite rod powder, which has enough heat to light paper.
Does anybody else do like this?
 
vaselene and cotton balls huh? anyone got a sweet bowdrill tutorial? my sas survival guide is lacking :confused:

is bowdrill easier than fire plow? can i use 550 cord for the bow part? so many questions..
 
I dont know if that is any more depressing than not being able to have a new bic have a flame larger than 1/8" because of the cold...
 
kgd said:
Perhaps a seasoned person around here can revamp the recipe for making char cloth. Also dumb question to those who do this, but does the char cloth disintigrate after your blow your tinder into flames. In other words is it one use only? If so then more than one char cloth seems to be needed on hand.
Click to expand...

I make my char cloth in a altoids or similar tin. Poke a small hole in the top of the tin to vent the gasses. Place the tin on some coals or a small fire so you are able to watch the smoke coming out of the hole you made. When the the tin stops smoking the char cloth is (usually) done. Only takes a few minutes. Pull it off the fire, let it cool for a bit (doesn't take long) and open up. All of the cloth should now be black like charcoal, if there is any brown on the cloth throw it back on the fire and do it again, will take even less time for the smoke to stop. 100% cotton works best, I use old t-shirts. Cut them into 2"x2.5" rectangles (depends on the size of the tin). Only put a few in a tin at at time, the will char better and faster. I usually won't do more than 5 or 6 pieces of cloth in a tin. I also have about 4 tins I use all at once to make up big batchs. I like to keep a bag of already cut up t-shirt rectangles on hand so I just have to put some in a tin and fire them up. Yes they are one time use only. I have a tin in my fire kit that holds my striker, a piece of flint ,and a thick stack of char cloth (just be careful it tears easily). The cotton pieces will shrink a bit when they char. I can usually get away with using half of one of the pieces to start a fire, but it is much easier with a whole one.
 
Tried it with the cotton balls took me about 5 strikes and it was roaring. i guess i should try it under more distressing conditionss now, aka outside :)

That bowdrill looks like its goin to be a pain.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top